


Mechanical Lullaby

by ShionsTear



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Drama, Eventual Romance, Fantasy, Humor, M/M, Mystery, Robots, Slice of Life, Steampunk, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-18 00:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13670463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShionsTear/pseuds/ShionsTear
Summary: Tick. Tock. The clock tower ticks incessantly, standing firmly on the ground, soaring into the sky, in the city with no name. Tick. The city is thriving with "life", or... is it not? Tock. On a certain day, a red-haired robot opens his eyes for the first time, not knowing anything about the city, his role nor his duty. Tick. But nonetheless, he takes it upon himself to find out more about his duty, the never-sleeping city and his new "life". Tock. And as he does, he will surely encounter other individuals that will help him understand more of this new world he has been awakened into. Tick. Will you follow him on his path as he slowly unravels the mysteries of the city? Tock. Decide. Tick. Because time won't wait. Tock. For no one. - A story about a robot's wish to learn.





	1. Prologue ~ A sound awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired and based on the game's event of the same name.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The ticking sound came from the giant clock tower standing in the centre of the old city, soaring into the sky as the tallest building. At the foot of the tower the city’s market place was flooding with people pursuing their everyday life; or should I say it was flooding with robots? Because even if they appeared to be humans like you and I on a first glance, every single inhabitant of that town was a robot. Robots made of different metals, turning gears, complex mechanisms and tangled circuits. But nonetheless, each and every one of them was brimming over with _life_ and _vigour._

There was but one entrance to the city’s clock tower and if I may call the side facing the market the tower’s front side, then the aforementioned entrance was located on its back. In most occasions, the door would be closed so that no person… pardon me, no robot would enter. Going through the door would lead you to a winding staircase in two directions. One led to the top of the tower, the other led underground. The latter one was fenced in though and the gates were being closed by a slightly rusty padlock, which only seemed to open if you were in possession of the right key. But not only the lock and fence had gotten rusty over time, the metallic stairs themselves had seen better days as well. The only thing keeping the room lit and not sunken in darkness was the oil lamp hanging down from a chain in the middle of the staircase. If you stood underneath it and turned your gaze upwards you’d discover that several oil lamps were hanging from the same chain along the way up.

Depending on your pace it took you about one to four minutes to climb up all the stairs and arrive on the top floor. But surprisingly, that wasn’t the highest you could get in the tower. Though the further climbing was hindered by a similar structure as on the ground – only that this time it was a wooden cage and a smaller, wooden staircase that presumably led up to the clock and bells – there was another door on the right side of the room. Then what I forgot to mention until now… the clock tower wasn’t standing in the town on its own, it was attached to another building. And that big, wooden double-winged door with carved ornaments led into another room.

A wide room opened behind the door. No matter where you turned your head to, there were various things to examine as far as the eye could reach. A curious apparatus on the left side, several beds lined up next to each other on the right side. Shelves filled with dozens and dozens of books on all four walls. Drawings, blueprints and drafts plastered on the walls. A peculiar odour lingering in the air; perhaps a mix of oil, rust and… something else? And amidst all the gadgets and interior, a single robot was standing in the middle of the room. Next to him, lying on an operating table, another one.

The standing robot’s attire was composed of a simple pair of brown trousers, almost knee-high black boots with golden ornaments and a black and brown jacket with faint green parts, golden decorations, belts and buckles. Underneath that he was wearing a white shirt and around his neck a silk scarf of the same faint green colour, held together by a likewise golden scarf pin. His hair was greenish brown and he was wearing round glasses. On his head a top hat with a golden band and a little wind-up key. He was looking at the robot body on the table next to him, that one’s eyes were closed. Perhaps he was sleeping? Or maybe, he just hadn't awoken yet? The standing robot turned around and sighed.

His name was Fabra, he was in charge of winding up the robots once a year. The wind-up day was the only day in which the clock tower’s door was open to everyone so they could visit Fabra and get wound-up. But it wasn’t that day. It was a normal day, just like any other. Yet another day on which he tried to awaken the robot on his operating table. He had thought, maybe today was the day, but the robot still didn’t seem to open his eyes. Wasn’t he ready to be awakened yet? But no, it was time! It was high time, in fact. _The clock is ticking_ , Fabra thought to himself. For a short moment, his mind drifted back in time to a similar occurrence that happened almost three years ago, but he quickly shook off those thoughts and returned to the current matter. He turned back to the lying robot and approached him once more. He slowly leaned forward, getting closer and closer to the red haired robot’s face. And then, as if he had forgotten where he was, he jumped back quickly when the clock struck noon and the bells began to chime twelve times.

And much to Fabra’s surprise, something else happened before they chimed the twelfth time. The robot lying on the table had opened his eyes and had sat up on the table. It was as if the clock tower’s bells resounding in the room had woken him up. He looked confused and turned around his head. He yawned. The white blanket that was covering him fell down and revealed his bare upper body. Even though it looked like any human’s body, we mustn’t forget that they were robots. Witnessing the robot’s awakening filled Fabra with joy. His eyes widened and his mouth formed a smile as he quietly stepped forward; he didn’t want to scare him, he had just awoken after all.

Fabra and the robot looked at each other, but then, before he said anything, he took off his hat and bowed down to the other robot who still didn’t know where he was. Fabra straightened himself again and cleared his throat.

“Good morning, Terra.” he said with a smile on his face, but the other robot only tilted his head in confusion.

And as the clock kept on ticking and the bells’ chiming began fading out gently, our little story of the robot named Terra unfolds.


	2. Tick One ~ Golden blooming flowers

“Terra?” the red haired robot repeated, his eyes still fixated on Fabra as he nodded affirmatively. _That’s your name_ , he said. Terra yawned as he turned his head around and inspected the room. He seemed to be still somewhat tired. Could robots feel tired?

After some more looking around, Terra finally stretched his arms and stood up from the operating table. The blanket that had been covering him fell down on the floor and he was standing in front of Fabra, not wearing anything. Before Fabra would continue trying to figure out if everything was alright with Terra, he quickly turned around, approached a chiffonier and stopped in front of it.

The chiffonier was approximately three quarters of Fabra’s height. It was made out of mahogany wood and had five drawers, one on top of the other, all of the same size. The knobs were made out of gold as well and had a gear engraved on them. The chiffonier was standing on four, round golden feet and a mirror with a wooden frame was mounted on top. Into the frame various ornaments were carved in.

Fabra opened the topmost drawer and reached into it with both of his hands. He took out a neatly folded, brown pinstriped shirt and a rust coloured vest with more belts and gear ornaments; much like Fabra’s own clothes. He put them in front of the mirror and closed the drawer again. He continued the procedure for the remaining four drawers and put everything on top of the chiffonier: a pair of brown knee long trousers with lighter pieces of clothing attached to its sides, striped tights of the same two colours, a small side pocket that could be attached to a belt, a red piece of silk ribbon and a pair of short boots.

He turned around wanting to tell Terra to put on the clothes, but when he saw how he had approached the window and was looking outside, he quickly ran over and pulled him back. Fabra told him he couldn’t just look out of the window while wearing nothing, what if someone saw him like that? Terra apologised to him, tapped towards the clothes Fabra had made ready for him and put them on. Fabra tied the red silk ribbon to a ribbon tie around Terra’s neck and when he was done, he took a few steps backwards and examined him from head to toes. He nodded with a smile on his face and continued where he had left off.

“How are you feeling, Terra?”

“I’m good. I was feeling a bit tired before, but when I took in some of the fresh air that was winding outside I felt rejuvenated again.” he smiled. “But, who are you? And where are we?”

“My name is Fabra, I am in charge of winding up the robots of this town once a year in this clock tower. We are inside of it right now, the big clock tower in the centre of the city.” he explained as he moved about. Terra remained silent and followed him with his gaze. “But more importantly, Terra. Do you remember your _duty_?”

“My… duty?”

“Hah…” Fabra sighed, apparently disappointed. “You too huh…” he whispered to himself.

“Fabra-san, what is this duty of mine you speak of? Can’t you tell me?”

“It’d be meaningless if I told you.”

“Eh?”

“Don’t worry. Sooner or later you’ll remember your duty, I’m sure of it.” Fabra nodded once again and walked towards a desk. He pulled back the wooden chair, sat down and opened the second drawer on the right. He grabbed a piece of paper and zestfully placed it on the table. After closing the drawer again, he stretched out his right arm to the left, took a quill out of a small vitreous jar – it was holding various writing utensils – and dipped it into an inkwell. He shook off the excess ink and brought the quill to the paper.

Terra had observed everything from where he was standing and he curiously followed Fabra’s every motion. His eyes sparkled as he witnessed Fabra’s elegant swings along the paper; or at least that’s how it looked to him.

“Come here.”

Terra did as he was told. He came closer to the desk and stopped next to Fabra. He looked down on the table and discovered what Fabra had been doing all along.

“What a pretty painting!” Terra exclaimed excitedly.

“What? No.” Fabra chuckled. “This is a map. I’m drawing you one so you can get to your house.”

“I understand! Thank you very much, Fabra-san!”

“You’re very welcome.” he continued drawing. Terra stayed by his side the entire time. His eyes were following the quill as it moved from one end of the paper to the other, slowly but surely putting down line after line to create a more or less accurate map to guide Terra to his destination. Whenever Fabra turned around and saw him smiling he couldn’t help but chuckle at Terra’s simpleness of being entertained by such a trifling matter.

He put down the quill after some minutes, spanned the piece of paper in between of his hands and held in front of him. He turned to Terra and told him he had finished. Terra thanked him once again and took a look at the map he had been given. His eyes started moving criss-cross all over the map, his attention being drawn to a different point with every passing second. _Just follow the red path I drew_ , Fabra added and stood up from the chair.

Terra nodded keenly as he started folding his map. Fabra nodded and walked towards the open window. He put his hands on the windowsill and gazed outside. He closed his eyes and felt a soft breeze gently swaying his hair to and fro.

“Today is a good day.” he exclaimed suddenly. He turned around and put a bright smile on his face. “Go out there and explore the town, Terra. But don’t get too distracted and make sure you get home before the sun sets.”

“I will!” Terra bowed down. “Thank you, Fabra-san.”

“If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask me. I’ll be here.”

“Alright!” he straightened himself and smiled. “I’ll be going then.” he turned around and approached the door.

“Oh, wait!” Fabra took out something from one of his pockets and lightly tossed it at him. Terra caught it with both hands and looked at it. “It’s a hairpin. Thought it’d suit you.”

Terra was overjoyed and quickly put the hairpin decorated with several golden gears into his hair. He thanked him once more and turned back to the door. He opened it, left the room and closed it behind of him. He slowly walked to the staircase and started descending, but he couldn’t hold in his excitement and his pace grew faster with every step until he was hopping down the stairs.

Fabra could hear the clanking echoes of his footsteps reverberating through the tower. It made him chuckle one more time before his expression quickly changed and turned into a much glummer one. He sighed deeply as he turned back to the window and took off his heat.

“I really do hope that you remember your duty, we don’t have that much time left…”

⚙⚙⚙

Unlike most robots, it took Terra neither four minutes nor one to walk down all the stairs; he got down in less than half a minute. He leaped down a couple of steps at once, he couldn’t wait to get outside and explore the town with help of the map he had gotten from Fabra. He jumped down the last five steps of the staircase and firmly landed on both of his feet. He quickly approached the door and put his hand on the knob. Even if it was closed from the outside most of the time, the door could always be opened from the inside in case of an emergency.

Terra pushed the door open and directly after stepping outside, the light of the midday sun shone down on his face and blinded him. He lifted his right arm to cover his eyes from the sun. And after his diluted pupils finally accustomed themselves to the bright light from outside, a wave of hundreds of impressions broke down on him and he didn’t know where to look at first.

It was only shortly after midday and the market place was bustling with ado. He smiled a bright smile, started walking and soon blended in with the masses. He kept on turning his head to the left and right, right and left, up and down, down and up; Terra was overwhelmed. He was so overwhelmed that he forgot moving his feet and someone ended up bumping into him. He turned around quickly and apologized to the girl by lowering his head. She smiled and told him not to mind, it happened all the time, especially during the market’s busy hours.

Terra noticed how the girl was carrying a big wattled basket on her back and a smaller one in her left hand. Both of them were filled with red, fresh looking apples. He didn’t think about it long and quickly asked her if she’d let him carry the big basket for her, as an apology. She repeated how it wasn’t his fault, but Terra insisted on helping her. She smiled, agreed and thanked him. Her fruits’ stand wasn’t that far away, she told him as they continued walking side by side.

“I haven’t seen you around here…” she said after a while.

“Oh, yes!” Terra turned to her. “My name is Terra! I just woke up today.”

“Ohh, is that so?” she smiled.

“Yes, Fabra-san drew a map for me so I can get home, but everything is so exciting that I couldn’t help but look around first.”

“Oh no, where are my manners.” the girl stopped and bowed down slightly. Her shoulder long, blonde hair fell into her face. She straightened herself again and tucked her hair behind her ears as she looked at Terra. “My name is Ember, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Ember-san!” Terra smiled back at her and the two continued on their way. Ember was wearing a knee long, light pink dress with white highlights. On each arm, she had a white lace wrist cuff with golden gear ornaments and a round opal gem in the middle. They reflected the sunlight and appeared to be glowing in a silky pink; Terra thought they had the same pretty colour as her eyes.

“Here we are.” she pointed at a stand that had various fruits on display. Another girl was standing behind it and greeted Ember and Terra as they approached her. Maybe she was one of Ember’s friends? “Thank you very much for your help, Terra-san!”

“No problem, it was my pleasure!”

“Oh, I know. Here.” she grabbed an apple from the big basket Terra had put down next to the stand and handed it over to him. “As a small thanks for helping me.”

“R-really? Are you sure?”

“Yes! Please take it.”

“Then I will, thank you very much!” Terra bowed down to her and the other girl. “I think I’ll continue on my way home now.”

“Do that. And if you ever need help, now you know where you can find me.”

“Thank you, Ember-san.” he smiled and started walking away. “Bye-bye.” he waved his arms as he vanished into the crowd. He rubbed the apple a few times on his vest and delightfully bit into it. He let out a satisfied smack. _This is the best apple I’ve ever eaten_ , he thought to himself, forgetting that it was his first time eating an apple. In fact, it was his first time eating anything at all.

You must know one thing about the inhabitants of this town. And because they haven’t talked about it yet, I’ll be so free as to tell you in their stead, if you allow. As aforementioned, they are all robots. As for that, they essentially don’t need to intake any kind of nourishment like humans do. All of them could survive – or rather, keep functioning – without having to eat or drink, but strangely enough, there were a lot of robots in this town that did so anyways.

Whoever built them made them so they could take in food and liquids without any major problems. They didn’t need it, but they still felt the enjoyment of having a delicious meal. There were even some restaurants one could visit in the town. The robots were very near to humans, I’d even go as far as to say they were almost human themselves, but despite everything, they didn’t possess a real heart.

Terra took a last bite from his apple and threw its core into a nearby dustbin. He had left the market place behind already and was walking down a small street. He took out his map and looked at it. If he’d continue down the street for a while and took a left turn at the restaurant Fabra had marked for him, he’d almost see his house. He folded it again and put it back in his pocket.

He turned to the right and jumped back when he saw his reflection in the display window of the store he was standing in front of. When he realized it wasn’t someone else, he took a deep breath and approached the window. He tilted his head to the side and stared into his own eyes. And it was then that he discovered that he had two differently coloured eyes. His left eye was as red as his hair, but his right eye was a bright yellow, almost golden.

Before he could think about whether having different eyes was something peculiar or not, he got once again surprised and jumped back from the window. The owner of the store had approached the window from inside and had held his face in front of Terra. He bowed down apologetically and continued walking.

He reached the restaurant after a while and stopped in front of it. _Capsaicin_ , Terra read out loud. It was the name of the restaurant and was written in big, bright red letters alongside the top of the windows. He got closer to one of the windows and pressed his forehead on the glass. He moved around his eyes, trying to see if there was anyone inside.

He spotted two robots standing at a counter. One of them was about to eat something while the other one was just standing there, looking at the other one in anticipation. The taller one took a bite, chewed a few times and swallowed. For some seconds none of the two moved and Terra continued observing the scene. But then out of nowhere, the one who had just taken a bite started coughing and gulped down an entire glass of water. Terra startled and moved back from the window. He decided to avoid that restaurant for a while.

He continued on his way and looked skywards. The sun was still shining and he wanted to keep looking around the city before going home, but he wanted to listen to what Fabra had told him. Just as he was about to look down again, something or someone bumped him from below, right into his chin.

Clonk!

“Oh my…” a voice said and a silver haired robot stood up. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes.” Terra moved his lower jaw up and down. “Still working.”

“That’s nice to hear.” he smiled.

“What were you doing down there?”

“I crouched down when those plants alongside the road caught my attention. And when I stood up again I didn’t realize you were there.”

“Ah no, I’m sorry too. I was walking without looking forward too…” Terra closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head. He opened them again and took a closer look at the robot standing in front of him.

He had long silver hair with a single white strand and they were braided and held together by two golden cuffs. He was wearing a white shirt and a brown vest with a gear-patterned front. He had black trousers and knee high brown boots with golden ornaments. He was also wearing long gloves and several small bags were hanging all around his belt.

But most peculiar were the various test tubes attached to his legs with belts and a larger glass vessel hanging from his belt. That vessel caught Terra’s attention and he focused his gaze on it. Inside of it was a single, yellow… plant? He was unsure what that was and decided to ask.

“What is that yellow thing around your waist?” he asked and pointed at it.

“This?” he grabbed the vase-like container and held it in front of Terra. “This is _Mary_.”

“Mary?” he tilted his head in confusion.

“This is a plant. And the yellow part is a flower.”

“Ohh, a flower…”

“Yes, they are very rare in this town. I only just managed to make this one bloom today and decided to name it ‘Mary’.” he looked at the golden blooming flower.

“You named it?”

“Yes. If you carefully look after a plant’s growth and give it a name, then they will be happy and grow faster.”

“I see.” Terra’s eyes started sparkling as he got closer to Mary. The flower’s reflection mirrored in his eyes and the silver haired robot noticed their heterochromia.

“Your eyes…” he nodded. Terra remembered that he had two different coloured eyes and looked awkwardly at him. “Your right eye has the same colour as Mary.”

Happy about being compared to the pretty flower he put on a bright smile on his face and thanked him. _Hehe, both of us woke up today, Mary,_ he mumbled to himself as he focused on the flower again.

“If you like this flower so much, you can take it with you if you want.”

“Really?!” Terra’s eyes widened and he jumped up a bit.

“Yes.” he chuckled. “I think Mary took a liking to you. And now that I know how it’s done, I can make all the other flowers bloom like this one.” he stretched out Mary and waited for Terra to take it.

“Thank you very much!”

“You’re welcome. Take good care of Mary, will you?”

“I will!”

“Alright, then I’ll be going.” the silver haired one said and took his leave. Terra smiled happily, attached Mary to his belt and continued on his way.

He took another look at his map but because he was so focused on reading it, he didn’t notice that another robot was running towards him. He tried to warn Terra and yelled _Front!_ a few times, but it was too late and the two bumped into each other. Terra was falling down backwards, but before his bottom reached the ground, the other robot swiftly grabbed one of his arms and prevented him from falling.

“Phew, safe!” he said and pulled Terra back up.

“Th-thank you very much!”

“Don’t sweat it, but it’s dangerous to walk while not looking forward.”

“I’ll be careful from now on, I’m sorry.” Terra touched his face. “Is my nose still there?”

“Looks alright to me, yes.”

“Thank goodness, I wouldn’t want to get damaged on the same day I woke up.” he sighed. He quickly remembered Mary hanging from his waist and checked if the flower was alright, but thanks to the other robot stopping him from falling, nothing had happened to Mary and he sighed in relief.

“Ohh! So you’re new here, huh?”

“Yes, Fabra-san drew this map for me.”

“Oh he did?”

“Yes.” Terra nodded. While doing so his gaze fell on the other robot’s feet. “Are those the reason why you were running so fast?” he asked, still looking down.

“Oh, my boots? Yeah, they let me run faster than others. They’re essential to my role.” he smiled. His boots had small golden wings attached to them. Other than that he was wearing grey-brown balloon pants and a vest of the same colour with golden rims. Underneath, a black shirt and an orange tie around his neck. He was also wearing a newsboy cap on his head with an emblem of a dove carrying a letter in its beak.

“Your role?”

“Yup!” he turned to the right and showed Terra the orange armband around his right arm. On it was the same emblem as on his hat. “I’m a postman, that’s my _role_. I deliver letters and packages, see?” he opened the satchel hanging from his shoulder and showed him all the letters inside.

“Ohh, I understand. You have a really important role then.”

“You could say that.” the orange haired robot laughed. “Oh, before I forget about it, my name is Martin.”

“Nice to meet you, Martin-san. I’m Terra.”

“Say Terra, what is your role?”

“I… don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Didn’t Fabra-san tell you?”

“Fabra-san said I’d have to remember my _duty_ on my own. Otherwise it’d be meaningless.”

“Your ‘duty’? Not your ‘role’?”

“I’m sure he said ‘duty’, yes.”

“What is the old guy thinking…” Martin mumbled to himself. He noticed that Terra was looking somehow lost and quickly tried to change subjects. He discovered the flower on his waist and pointed at it. “What’s that thing around your waist?”

“This is Mary. It’s a flower!”

“So it’s a flower after all!” Martin seemed excited. “Man, real flowers are really rare. I’ve only seen them on pictures until now. Where did you find it?”

“A silver haired robot I ran into earlier gave it to me.”

“Silver, huh? The only one I can think of is Dissen-san.”

“So his name was Dissen-san!” Terra seemed happy to finally know the name of the robot who gave him Mary.

“Yes, Dissen-san is the only one I know that grows plants. I often see him walking around with plants.”

“Martin-san knows a lot.”

“Well, I do have to know my fair amount of things when I’m supposed to deliver stuff, right? But I know nothing compared to Jane.”

“Jane-san?” Terra tilted his head to the side again. It seems he had developed a habit of tilting his head when he was confused or wondering about something.

“He works at the nearby library. If you ever want to know anything, visit him.”

“I will, thank you very much.”

“I have to continue on my way now, don’t get lost on your way home!” Martin said, waved his arm and quickly ran off. Terra observed him until he disappeared behind the horizon. _He really is fast_ , he thought to himself, turned around and headed home.

After some more couple of minutes Terra arrived at the destination drawn on his map. He stopped in front of the house and looked up its facade. There was a small bakery in the ground floor so he figured he’d be living on one of the other floors. He decided to pay the bakery a visit after he had settled in. He opened the wooden door and entered.

He was standing in a small corridor with a rather narrow staircase leading up. He turned to the right and saw three post boxes hanging next to each other on the wall. The one in the middle had his name written on it, which made him smile for some reason. _That door probably leads to the bakery_ , he thought to himself as he noticed the door with a small round glass window in it. Only seconds later he discovered a sign standing next to door; it read _open_. Terra laughed embarrassedly because now he was sure it was the door to the bakery.

He climbed up the stairs and reached the first floor. The corridor on the first floor was as small as the one below and looked nearly the same. There was another staircase leading up to a second floor and another door in the middle. He stepped closer to the door and when he saw his name written on the nameplate next to door his eyes widened in excitement. He placed a hand on the doorknob and turned it around.

“Eh?” he exclaimed when the door didn’t open no matter how often he turned around the knob in both directions. “Oh, key!” he remembered that the door would probably be closed and needed a key to open it. But he didn’t have a key…

He frisked all over himself but didn’t feel a key in any of the pockets. He put his hand on his chin, tilted his head to the side and started thinking. Did Fabra tell him anything about a key and he just forgot. _No_ , he shook his head. He would’ve remembered that, probably. He kept thinking for a while and finally got an idea. He quickly walked down to the ground floor again and approached the post boxes. He positioned himself in front of his own box and slowly opened it.

“As I thought!” he said happily as he grabbed a letter that was lying inside. He looked at the addressor and found Fabra’s name on it. He quickly opened the envelope and peeked inside. His eyes sparkled as he reached into it and took out a silver key. He closed the post box, hurried upstairs again and stopped in front of the door. He stuck the key into the keyhole, turned it around twice and heard the lock open. He took out the key and turned around the knob.

The door opened and he could finally enter his new home. The door lead directly into a cosy living room with a small attached kitchen. A small corridor led past the kitchen and further into the house where two other doors could be found. It was a small apartment, but for Terra it was the biggest one he had ever seen; it was the first one he had ever seen after all.

He was more than overjoyed when thinking about the fact that he was allowed to live there on his own. He closed the door behind of him and remained on the same spot for a while. He didn’t know what to look at first and was overwhelmed. But, how odd. Everything he saw was clean, no signs of dust anywhere. Had someone been cleaning it all the time? But the key had been in the post box. Was there another key?

The questions kept piling up inside his head and he decided to think about that later. For the time being, he just wanted to look around his new home and stepped around the room with a bright smile on his face. He noticed a small table standing in one of the corners and stepped closer to it. It was standing next to a window and Terra concluded that it was the perfect place for Mary and placed the flower on top of it.

“Welcome home, Mary!” he approached the flower with a smile on his face.

⚙⚙⚙

“I hope he arrived home safely.” Martin said as he delivered the last batch of letters. “Alright, this is it for today.”

“It’s rare to see you talk to yourself.” a voice said and Martin turned around to see who it was.

“It’s also rare to see you around this part of the town, Fabra-san.”

“I thought I should take a walk from time to time too.”

“Hmm…”

“Any news today?” Fabra straightened his hat.

“Nothing in particular, no. Only that there have been more deliveries than normally today.” Martin explained.

“That’s probably my fault, some documents have been piling up and I ended up sending them all at once.”

“Do you know how much work that was?”

“I’m sorry, I’ll treat you to a meal one of these days.”

“Awesome! I usually don’t eat but there's still some stuff I want to try!”

“I’ll invite you to a certain restaurant, it’s called _Capsaicin_.”

“I think I’ve heard of it…”

“Oh I’m sure you have…” he laughed.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” Fabra looked down and was about to continue his walk.

“Ah right, I met someone called Terra earlier!”

“…that was quick.” Fabra sighed.

“He talked something about having a _duty_ and nor a _role_ …”

“Heehh, did he?” he was trying to avoid Martin’s eyes and the subject itself. It seemed like he didn’t want to talk about it.

“You wouldn’t know more about it, would you?”

“Nope, I have no idea.” he said and passed him. “Anyways, I gotta go. See ya.”

“Alright, have a good day Fabra-san.” Martin turned around. Fabra just raised his arm without looking back and continued on his way. Martin sighed. He knew Fabra for some time already and knew he was hiding something. But he also knew that there was no point in probing into it further.

Before heading home he decided to head to the library and let the librarian know that Terra might be visiting him soon. He also asked him to look after Terra, just in case something would happen to him. The sun was already setting when he arrived at the library.

At the same time, Terra was sitting on an armchair in his new home, enjoying a cup of tea. His exciting first day in the new town was slowly coming to an end. He took a sip and focused his gaze on Mary. The flower was still standing on the table next to the window and the sun was shining into the room.

The setting sun’s orange hued light fell on the yellow flower and almost let it glow in a golden radiance, as if the flower itself was emitting light. Terra was happy to have met Dissen by chance and to have received such a beautiful and rare sight like Mary. He decided to cherish the flower like life itself.

The clock tower struck six in the evening and the sun had almost set completely. The market place’s busy ado had died down as well. In place of a loud, with “life” brimming city, a silent city, almost devoid of “people” arose during night time and set the stage for our next chapter.


	3. Tick Two ~ The Isle of Veda

The clock struck seven in the evening when Martin decided to head home. He had been walking around town all day long and was slowly feeling… tired? I must say that I am unaware of whether robots feel tired or not, but much like some enjoyed the act of eating, others enjoyed the act of sleeping and must have therefore had a sense of fatigue.

He was passing through a narrow alleyway in direction of the market place. Martin had a small apartment on the top floor of a building next to it. The sun had set already and the moon was rising to the starry firmament. It was already dark, but luckily he knew every alley and street of the town like the back of his hand and had no problems finding the way. He continued on his way, turned around different corners a few times and was slowly reaching the big place next to the clock tower.

The closer he got to it the brighter his surroundings became. The town’s lamplighter was already going around. Lighting up the street lamps when it turns dark was his role. Martin and the lamplighter crossed paths and Martin greeted him nicely, exchanged a few words with him and the two continued on their respective ways. When he turned around the last corner that led to the market place he started hearing a familiar melody. The tune echoed through the air and found its way into Martin’s ears.

“It’s him again, isn’t it?” he sighed and approached the robot from where the music was coming. He stopped in front of him and listened to the music for a while. Said robot was playing the violin, his eyes were closed but his expression showed that he was enjoying his own playing.

He was wearing a dark brown tailcoat with golden accents and a white shirt with frills on the front and cuffs. His trousers were of a lighter brown and his knee-high boots of an even lighter brown, decorated with several golden gear elements. Around his neck he wore a frilly cravat, on it a scarf pin with a yellow gem. His long blonde hair was tied to a low ponytail with a brown pinstriped bow.

“Stop! Jeune, stop it!” Martin exclaimed suddenly. The blonde haired one stopped playing and opened his eyes.

“But I was at a nice part. _Please_ , don’t bother me.” Jeune said.

“But you’re playing that one song again, you’re troubling others!”

“But playing the violin is my role.”

“Play another song then!”

“OH, but I like this song. When I start playing everyone is terrified and starts crying. It is _wonderful!_ Please show me your tears. Making you cry, scream and be overcome by fear is my current goal.” Jeune explained with a smile on his face.

“Why is something like that your goal?!”

“I can’t help it, it’s part of my role. And now if you’ll excuse me…” he said, closed his eyes again and started playing the same, horrifying tune. Martin let out a big sigh, turned around and walked away. He didn’t want to discuss with someone like Jeune. Martin had known Jeune for quite a while already.

He met him on the first day after being awoken. He was on his role’s first errand and met Jeune on the market place. When they had met for the first time he wasn’t playing that horrifying melody yet. It was a different one, a more loving one. Martin always wondered what had made Jeune change the melody, but even though they had gotten closer over time, that was the one big mystery he could never solve.

Martin reached the building of his apartment and stopped in front of the door. He turned around quickly, wanting to take one more glance at Jeune, but when he saw that he was still playing the violin in the distance he sighed again and opened the door. Martin didn’t notice, but at the same time he had turned around, a small key he had been carrying in one of his pockets had fallen out of it and onto the ground. Without noticing his loss he went up the stairs and entered his apartment to rest for the night.

⚙⚙⚙

The sun of the next morning had already risen when it shone through Terra’s apartment’s window. The light fell on his face and as if the rays were tickling his nose he woke himself up with a sneeze. He startled and jumped up from the armchair. He looked around and remembered where he was. _Ohh I was sleeping. I didn’t know robots could sleep,_ he thought to himself.

He had apparently fallen asleep on the armchair. He stretched and yawned. For a moment he just stood there, bathing in the morning sun, until he remembered what he wanted to do. He quickly approached Mary and bowed down to the flower. He wished her a good morning and told her about his plans for the day.

After that he walked to the kitchen and opened all of the wooden cupboard doors and drawers, but he didn’t find anything to eat. _Figures_ , he thought. He tilted his head to the side and started walking in circles. After a short moment he remembered that there was a bakery on the ground floor and he decided to pay it a visit.

He grabbed the key to his apartment that was lying on a table and stepped outside. But before closing the door he suddenly made an expression as if something had dawned on him. He quickly entered again and walked towards the two doors that were in the corridor past the kitchen. One door in front of him at the end of the corridor and one to his left. He remembered that he hadn’t taken a look at the remaining rooms and his curiosity gained the upper hand.

He stepped closer to the door in front of him and turned the doorknob around. The door creaked open slowly and he peeked inside through a small gap. He moved his eyes to the right and to the left, but he couldn’t see much of the inside of the room.

“Hello?” he asked carefully as if intruding into someone else’s room. He didn’t know why he had asked that, he knew no one would be in there, but he still wanted to ask. Just in case. He then completely opened the door and it responded with another loud creak. He was standing in the doorframe as his eyes widened and a smile appeared on his face. That quite small room was his bedroom. It didn’t fit much more than a bed next to the back wall, but Terra was still overjoyed.

After having made that grand discovery in the morning he was eager to find out about the last room as well. He quickly closed the door, accompanied by yet another creak, jumped around and approached the other door. He did the same procedure as he did before – just in case – and opened it. What he found this time was the likewise small bathroom, but just as before he was still overjoyed.

Happy that he had found out what was behind the two mysterious doors he once again grabbed his apartment’s key and left. He closed the door, put the key in one of his pockets and walked down the stairs. Just like the day before, a sign standing next to the bakery’s door read _open_ and Terra could smell the scent of fresh baked bread in the air. He smiled and entered the bakery.

When he opened the door a small bell positioned above the door rang and let the bakery know that someone had entered. Terra was overwhelmed with all the new sensations that came flying at him. His eyes started sparkling when he discovered all the different kinds of breads and cakes in different shapes and sizes. He approached the counter and moved his face closer to the glass.

“May I help you?” a white clad robot appeared from behind the counter with a smile on her face. Terra startled and jumped back a bit. He nodded quickly and looked at all the different breads. After a while of looking around he pointed at one that looked especially delicious. The baker nodded, grabbed the silver bread tongs and picked the bread Terra was still pointing at, his eyes glowing in anticipation.

She enveloped it into a paper bag and put it on the counter. Terra was about to take the bag but then he noticed that he had no money at all. He noticed that there were a few things he had forgotten to ask Fabra about, and that was one of them. He bowed down quickly and explained his situation to her. She chuckled kindly and told him that she didn’t intend to take anything from him anyways, as she wanted to gift it to him as a little welcome present.

A big grin appeared on Terra’s face as he thanked her and grabbed the paper bag. He promised to come by regularly when he had some money and with that he left the bakery again and stepped outside. He stretched once again, looked up at the sunny sky and started walking.

After some minutes he opened the bag and started eating the bread. He took a big bite and munched on it while a happy sigh escaped his mouth. It was as if the bread turned his already good mood even better. He liked it so much that he almost gulped it down in a few more bites until there was nothing left. He saw a trash bin and walked towards it to throw away the paper bag, but when he moved his arm above the bin to let go of the bag he suddenly stopped his movements. He remained in that pose for some seconds until he spoke out his thoughts.

“I have no idea where the library is…” he told himself. He was right, no one had told him the exact location of the library. Terra only knew that it was somewhere in the town and that there was a robot called Jane working there, that’s all Martin told him. He sighed deeply and the paper bag fell into the trash bin. But he wouldn’t let such a small obstacle prevent him from fulfilling his goal of the day. He wanted to go to the library, meet Jane and learn how to take care of flowers.

Terra formed his right hand to a fist, stretched his arm skywards and pumped himself up. He decided it’d the easiest and fastest to ask someone else for directions and therefore he headed to the market place. That was the only place he knew would have robots walking around. If he could he’d prefer asking someone he had met already, like Ember, Martin, Fabra or Dissen. Luckily he had memorized the way from the market place to his apartment, so that at least on that track he wouldn’t get lost.

He arrived at the market place and as expected it was brimming with life, just like the day before. Everyone was plying their trade, exchanging goods, selling things; Terra was once again fascinated by everything he saw. He almost forgot what he had gone there for, but then he picked up a tune among all the chatter and ado. He turned his head and tried to make out where the music was coming from. He closed his eyes and pricked up his ears. He opened them again when he thought to have spotted the direction and headed there.

He knew he was supposed to look for Ember and ask her about the library, but the music had caught his interest and he couldn’t help but wanting to learn its source. He squeezed through the crowd of robots as swiftly as he could, apologising to everyone he bumped into by accident until he finally reached a clearing. It seemed as if other robots where steering clear of that one particular spot and coincidentally it was the source of the music that found its way into Terra’s ears.

The blonde haired violinist played the same tune as yesternight. Of course, Terra didn’t know that, but I assumed it necessary to tell you. As he stood in front of Jeune he didn’t say anything, he only listened to his playing and waited until he finished. When he did, Jeune opened his eyes – he would always close them while playing – and was surprised to see Terra.

“ _OH,_ have you been listening to my _song_?” Jeune asked with a smile on his face.

“Oh, I… yes!” Terra answered.

“Did you like it?”

“Hmm…” he tilted his head to the side. “I don’t understand much about music I think, but I think you have talent.” he smiled at him.

“ _Thanks!_ ” Jeune said.

“Oh, by the way!” Terra remembered his goal of the day. “Excuse me but do you know where I can find the library?”

“ _Yes_ , I do know.”

“Could you please tell me how to get there?” he asked and Jeune explained him as detailed as possible. Terra bowed down and thanked him with a wide grin. He said goodbye to Jeune and walked away, now heading to the library. Jeune gazed after Terra as he vanished into the crowd. He smiled and put the violin back on his shoulder.

“It’s been a while since I made someone smile with my music…” Jeune whispered to himself. “Even though that’s my _duty_ …” he closed his eyes and started playing the same tune as before.

It only took Terra about 15 minutes to reach the library. He made sure to memorize the way, he felt like he’d be visiting more than just once. He was standing in front of a big metal gate that represented the only entrance to the library grounds. The actual building was past the gate, encircled by a tall stone wall. Above the gate was a sign that read _The Isle of Veda._ Terra read it out aloud, but he didn’t know what it meant.

Since it didn’t seem like the gate was closed and there was no one else around, he pushed it open and entered. A cobbled path led straight to the big building in the centre of the property. Leafless trees were aligned on both sides of the path and the rest of the ground was lightly covered with grass and other scrub. Terra didn’t know how to describe it, but he felt as if it wasn’t supposed to look like it did.

He got closer to the building and stopped in front of the double door. Just like with the gate, it seemed like no one was around so he placed his hand on the doorknocker, knocked twice, opened the door slightly and peeked inside through a small gap.

“H-hello?” he asked into the darkness, but no one answered. He was sure nothing bad would be waiting inside, but he wanted to be sure. Just in case. He opened the door and stepped inside. He was standing in a rather large entrance room from which two corridors left the room to both sides. In front of him was a big double staircase supposedly leading to a second floor. In between the staircase was an archway that led further into the building.

Terra was most intrigued by that centre archway than any of the other options and slowly approached it while turning left and right, gawking at the library’s interior. Dozens of things he had never seen before were stored in glass showcases, placed in shelves or exhibited on pedestals. He was stepping closer to the archway, making as little noise as possible because he feared any small noise would echo through the entire building.

But when he passed the archway he couldn’t hold it back any longer and a surprised sigh left his mouth as he moved his gaze upwards. He was standing in a huge circular hall, hundreds of small glass triangles formed a dome on top through which the sun was shining. The walls were seamlessly aligned with shelves, all of them brimmed with thousands of books. Further up the walls was a balcony-like corridor and even more shelves on the walls; Terra assumed that you’d get there when going up the double staircase.

“Whoa, the dome looks so amazing…” he said to himself.

“It is a geodesic dome.” an unknown voice answered. Terra startled and turned around to see where the voice was coming from. A robot in a dark blue robe with golden attachments and ornaments was standing in front of him. He was wearing boots of the same colour scheme and holding a book in his black gloved hands. His hip-long, equally dark blue hair was tied together. The sun shining through the glass dome seemed to be reflecting in his silver eyes as Terra was eyeing this new encounter.

“Excuse me?” Terra was slightly overwhelmed with the situation and didn’t know how to react.

“Geodesic dome. A dome constructed of short struts following geodesic lines and forming an open framework of triangles or polygons. The principles of its construction were described by Buckminster Fuller.”

“Uhm…”

“My name is Jane, I am in charge of this library. Is there anything I could help you with?”

“Jane-san!” Terra lost all confusion and quickly approached him. “Martin-san told me there was a library nearby and someone named Jane-san works there and that he’s really smart and knows everything so I wanted to visit you and ask you about how to take care of Mary!”

“Wh-what…” Jane was confused. Terra had gotten a bit too close to him and he was leaning slightly backwards, trying to hide his flustered face due to such an unexpected behaviour. He cleared his throat and made sense of Terra’s rambling. “I understand, so you are the robot Martin-san told me about yesterday. Your name was Terra, correct?”

“Yup!” Terra smiled.

“Very well then.” Jane smiled and walked past Terra to the centre of the hall. Terra turned around and followed him with his eyes. “Welcome to The Isle of Veda.”

“The Isle of… Veda? That’s what the gates said too.”

“That is the name of the library.”

“What does Veda mean?”

“Veda. The most ancient Hindu scriptures, written in early Sanskrit and containing hymns, philosophy and guidance on ritual for the priests of Vedic religion. Believed to have been directly revealed to seers among the early Aryans in India and preserved by oral tradition, the four chief collections are the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda.” Jane pattered relentlessly and Terra didn’t understand a single word.

“Uhm…”

“To put it simply, it means _knowledge_.”

“Ohh, I understand! Jane-san is really smart!”

“Obviously. It is my role to take care of the library and the books. Therefore I have read every book and memorized their contents.”

“Every single book?”

“Yes.”

“Whoa.” Terra was impressed. “So you really know everything there is to know. I see, yes. If that’s your role. Everyone has a role, yet I still don’t know what my role is.”

“You do not know your role? Impossible, every robot is told their role upon awakening. You should not have been an exception.” Jane explained.

“But Fabra-san told me I have to remember it myself or it’ll be pointless.”

“He did?” Jane started thinking. “Very well. There are books on roles in this library. Care to take a look at them?”

“Yes please!” Terra answered and followed Jane. He led him to a bookshelf and told him which books had the subject focus on _roles_. Terra approached it and grabbed the first book Jane had pointed at. “Hmm, I wonder… what exactly _is_ a role anyways?” he mumbled.

“Role. The function assumed or part played by a person or thing in a particular situation.”

“Jane-san is like a living dictionary!” Terra exclaimed.

“That is something I cannot help, unfortunately.”

“I think that makes you very unique, I like it.” he smiled and continued flipping through the book. “Ohh, so everyone has a different rank?” he stopped at a page that caught his interest and started reading aloud. “There are three different ranks among robots. High, middle and low. Depending on a robot’s role they are appointed to one of the three ranks.”

“That is true.”

“I see. What rank is Jane-san?”

“M-me?” he stopped for a moment. “I am high rank since I have to look after the books in the library. Apparently that role was deemed of high importance.”

“So you’re an even greater robot!”

“A rank does not determine one’s greatness, as you put it. For example, Martin-san’s role is delivering letters and the like to everyone in town. He is middle rank, but I myself see his role as very important as well. So to me he is… ‘great’ too.” Jane explained.

“Yes, Martin-san’s role seems very important.” Terra closed the book and put it back. “Jane-san, are there any books that could help me raise Mary?”

“Mary?” Jane raised an eyebrow in confusion. “You mentioned that name earlier as well.”

“Mary is like… uhm… what was the word again? Dissen-san told me…” he started thinking. “Mary’s like… like this! And, the top is yellow and golden.” he flailed around with his arms, trying his best to explain it to him.

“Do you perhaps mean… a flower?”

“Yes! That was it. Mary is a flower!”

“Flower. The seed-bearing part of a plant, consisting of reproductive organs that are typically surrounded by a brightly coloured corolla and a green calyx.” he rattled again. “Follow me, the books about botany are on the second floor.” he said and led the way.

They left the hall through the big archway and climbed the stairs. Terra was once again distracted by everything that caught his gaze, which caused him to trip and almost fall, but luckily he managed to regain his balance. He brushed it off with a light chuckle while Jane frowned and sighed at his newly met acquaintance.

The first thing Terra did when they got on the second floor was rush to the wooden handrail, hold onto it and mesmerize at the view over the entire first floor where he had just been only moments ago. Everything was a small adventure for him and he smiled widely. Jane smiled at him, probably taken aback yet strangely happy due to Terra’s childlike naïveté and honesty; it had been a long time since he had met someone like him.

“Terra, the corner over there hosts every book about the entire flora known to us.” he pointed to his left. Terra sprang back from the handrail and hopped to where Jane was pointing to. He looked for the word ‘flower’ on the spines of the books and when he finally found one he took it out of the shelf and started looking through it. Jane approached him slowly and peeked over Terra’s shoulder and into the book; he was slightly taller than Terra.

“There!” Terra suddenly exclaimed and put his finger on a flower’s illustration. It looked exactly like Mary. He looked at the description and started reading aloud. “Marigold. A plant of the daisy family, typically with---“

“Yellow, orange, or copper-brown flowers, that is widely cultivated as an ornamental. So that was the _Mary_ you were speaking of, I understand.”

“Jane-san really _does_ know everything!” his eyes sparkled. “Let’s see…” he continued reading. “It says the marigold doesn’t require more water or general caretaking than other plants and that watering it once every four days should be enough.”

“Indeed. Plants and other living beings require water and cannot live without it. It’s essential to life.” Jane explained.

“Life?” Terra closed the book and put it back.

“Life. The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.”

“Does that mean… we’re not… _alive_?” Terra asked confused. Weren’t they living? Wasn’t _he_ living? But then again, it was true that he was different compared to Mary. Everyone else he had met so far was different to Mary. He had only just been awoken, but he understood that much, robots didn’t _die_. And if they couldn’t die, then they couldn’t live either? The questions were whirling around in his head. It was as if he understood the concept itself, yet he didn’t _understand_.

“I…” Jane wanted to reassure him, but he didn’t know what to say. “I am unsure myself. Unfortunately, all I know is that plants and animals, if there are any left, are fundamentally different to us and---“ but before he continued he gasped in shock when Terra abruptly fell down on his knees. “Terra!” he crouched down quickly and put his hands on Terra’s shoulders.

Terra had his eyes closed and his hands on his head.

“My… head…” he mumbled.

“Terra, is everything okay?”

“It’s like… there’s something in my head. It’s giving me a headache.”

“Come on, let’s sit down at a table.” Jane helped him get up and he accompanied him to one of the tables. Terra sat down on the chair and rested his head on the table. Jane sighed and sat down in front of him. He observed him for a while. Terra stopped moving, it was as if he had fallen asleep. Jane brushed away some of the robot’s red hair, took off one of his gloves and placed his bare hand on Terra’s forehead. “Everything normal.”

When the robots were malfunctioning somehow a built-in system would signalize that by emitting warmth through the forehead. Yet another point in which they’re mysteriously similar to us humans, isn’t it?

When Terra opened his eyes again the bookshelves were tinted in an orange hue. The hush was interrupted by the sound of a closing book. Terra sat up quickly and discovered Jane sitting in front of him. He looked around, turned to the glass dome and noticed that the sun was already setting.

“What happened?” he asked, visibly confused.

“How is your head? Still in pain?” Jane asked before answering his question.

“N-no.” Terra put a hand on his head. “Everything is okay, I think.”

“Thank goodness. I would not want to carry you if you had stopped moving.” he stood up and grabbed his book. “I think it is for the best if you head home, the sun is setting already. I will accompany you to the exit.”

“How long was I---“

“A few hours. But nothing else happened.”

“Were you looking after me the whole time?”

“D-Do not get the wrong idea. I was merely doing what anyone else would have done were they in my situation.” he turned away.

“Thank you very much, Jane-san.” Terra smiled and stood up as well. The two headed to the stairs, descended to the first floor and approached the door. Jane opened the door and Terra stepped outside. “Thank you for taking care of me today!”

“Take care on your way home, Terra.”

“I will!” he closed his eyes and smiled. The setting sun was shining from behind and bathed him in a golden light. Jane’s eyes widened as he saw Terra turn around and walk towards the gate. But just before reaching it, he turned around once more and raised his warms. “Jane-san!”

“Yes, Terra?”

“I kind of need money so would it be okay if I worked here and helped you out?!” he exclaimed in the distance while waving his arms. Jane couldn’t hold in a chuckle and laughed. He quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat.

“Sure. If you like, come back tomorrow and we shall talk about it, alright?”

“Yes!” Terra seemed happy. “Thank you very much, Jane-san! See you!” and with that he left through the gates and walked home with a smile on his face.

“How cute.” Jane smiled softly as he closed the door. He stepped back, turned left and went down the corridor. He passed by different rooms and stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor. He opened the door with a key from his set of keys and entered the room.

It didn’t look much different than the rest of the library. Bookshelves on all four walls and various other more and less peculiar items lying around. The only difference was that the room had a study desk in front of the window and a bed on the left end of the room. He approached the bed and let himself fall on it. He turned his head and his gaze fell on his desk.

“What did he mean with having no role and having to find out himself? And why did Fabra-san awaken him?” he talked to himself, it was another one of the habits he developed due to being alone most of the time. “…what are we if not alive. If I just had access to---“ he shook his head. “No, I have no time to think about that now.

He stood up from the bed and sat down at his desk. He grabbed a quill, dipped it in ink, opened the book in front of him and started writing down the day’s events, like he always did. That had become his first habit, he started writing down everything since the day he had been awoken. Jane didn’t want to forget. He had read all books because he wanted to learn and he kept on reading because he didn’t want to forget what he learned. He also wrote everything down not only because he didn’t want to forget but he also didn’t want _to be_ forgotten.

It may seem inconspicuous, but don’t we write to leave something behind? Something to not be forgotten? But at the same time, to not forget about the written words. As if they could fly away if they weren’t bound to the paper. Word after word. Black on white.

But why did Jane want to leave something behind, after all, neither he, nor Terra, nor any of the other robots would ever die.

 

              Death – The action or fact of dying; the end of the life of a person or organism.


	4. Tick Three ~ The key to naturalism

Martin had a regulated morning routine.

You may have thought that having a routine at all times was something robots had innate. At this point I must excuse myself, but I have to mention, as you all probably have noticed, that _innate_ is the wrong word to use in this situation. Naturally, robots are not born and therefore cannot have innate abilities or the like. But in this case I used that specific word to closely show what I have tried to imply. But let us continue with the postman’s morning.

After Martin stood up from his bed, he would always open all the windows of his apartment so that new air could come in. He then would enter his kitchen and prepare breakfast, a ritual he enjoyed a lot. He’d take his time for having breakfast, even though he didn’t need to. But because of that, Martin always started his days one hour earlier than he had to.

The coffee can he had bought recently whistled as the water began to boil. It was a simple can, bronze in colour, not too expensive. He turned off the gas stove, grabbed a mug from one of the cupboards – he had to use a little box because he couldn’t reach the door to it otherwise – and put it on the counter.

He positioned a strainer on top of the mug, put a filter into it, added two and a half spoons of coffee and carefully doused it with the boiling water while slowly moving the can in circles above the mug. Martin had milled the coffee beans himself the other day. One day he discovered an old coffee mill at the market and couldn’t resist buying it.

He put the can back on the stove and waited for the water to pass through coffee, filter and strainer and drop into the mug. He walked to one of the open windows and looked outside. The sun had only just risen past the horizon and the market place underneath showed no signs of a business heavy day yet.

Martin’s apartment was on the top floor of one of the buildings with exit to the marketplace. When he was woken up and given the role of postman, he was also given the apartment by the market place. It would help him get around town faster if he lived in the centre, they had told him.

The robot stretched his arms and let out a happy sigh. He had a feeling that he was going to have a great day ahead of himself. He stepped back to the kitchen where his cup of coffee was waiting for him. He removed strainer, filter and what was left of the milled coffee and put them into the sink.

He turned around with the mug in his hands and walked to an armchair that was positioned next to one of the windows. Next to it was a small table with a small sugar basin on top of it. It matched the bronze coffee can and the with bronze adorned coffee mill. He grabbed the basin’s lid with his left hand and used his right hand to put half a spoonful of sugar into the coffee.

After stirring it for a while and making sure that all the sugar had dissolved completely, he put the spoon down on the table, smelled at his freshly made coffee and took a small sip.

“Very nice fragrance.” he complimented himself, followed by a short laugh. If he had been given the chance to change his role, he would’ve liked to own a café and serve delicious coffee to everyone who’d visit it. But his role had been predetermined from the start. Martin was the postman. That was his role. And nothing could change that fact.

He emptied his mug and carried it back to the sink in the kitchen, let it fill up with water and got ready to head out for a day of work. Grabbing his post bag from a hook on the wall, he stepped out of his apartment, turned the key to close it and quickly ran down the stairs, skipping the last few with a jump. He left the building and found himself on the empty market place.

“Let’s go!” he yelled into the morning sky as he stretched his arms. “Let’s see, I’ll deliver the letters I gathered yesterday night on my way back home first and---“ his hands were trying to open his post bag, but it was closed. The post bag had a small lock on top that could only be opened with a key Martin owned. That was to make sure no one but the postman would handle the letters and packages.

Martin put his left hand in one of his pockets and searched for the key. After he didn’t find it there he changed pockets. After he didn’t find it there either, he searched all other pockets from his clothes, even though he always made sure to put that key in his trousers’ pockets.

“Eh? Where’s the key?” he wondered. Not wanting to lose too much time on that matter, he shrugged and dashed off to the post office. Its official name may have been post office, but in truth it was just a small shop on the other side of the market place he could use to store letters and packages. And if robots wanted their letters to be sent and couldn’t wait for Martin to pass by their homes, they could also leave it in the office, putting it through a post box like opening in the door.

As he got closer to it, an ominous melody found its way into Martin’s ears. The yellow haired violinist was standing in front of the post office and playing his usual tune. Martin sighed as he stopped in front of him and looked up; Jeune was quite a bit taller than him.

“Good morning, Jeune.”

“OH, _good morning_ , Martin.” Jeune said and took a break from his playing. “Already working at this early hour?”

“Same back at you, already playing this amazing music at this early hour?”

“ _Yes!_ ” he smiled, not understanding the sarcasm behind Martin’s statement. “Do you want to listen to it more?”

“No, sorry.” he grabbed his keychain with house, apartment and shop keys. “I’m kinda busy already right now.” he picked the third key and turned it around in the lock.

“I see, well then. _Please_ do your best today as well, Martin.” Jeune nodded and returned to his usual tune.

Martin entered the post office and put his bag on a table in the corner of the single-room shop. While looking through new letters and packages that were left there overnight an idea shot through his mind. What if the post office had a reserve key for the post bag? Quickly he looked through all the drawers and boxes and corners of the entire shop. But as much as he kept on looking, he didn’t find a second key. He sighed deeply and grabbed some of the new letters.

“Guess I’ll deliver these while I head to the clock tower and ask Fabra-san if he has a second key for the bag.” he sighed again, put his post bag on the table and stepped outside, making sure to close the door behind of him. He ignored Jeune as he continued playing with his eyes closed and dashed off.

The routes Martin took every day to deliver everyone’s little treasures, as he always called the letters and packages, changed every time. Since he could rely on his boots and wasn’t bound to any other devices, he’d just take the route whichever was the fastest at the moment, so it always depended on who he had to deliver letters or packages too. And because he knew all of the town’s streets and passageways, he had no problem getting from A to B.

All of the letters he chose for his first run on that morning were to be delivered to robots living (hereby I mean the act of settling down at a certain domicile and passing their days there) in houses at the market place or apartments situated in streets leading to it. Martin ran to the first door and pushed the bell.

“Postman Martin is here! I have a delivery for you!” was his standard greeting he always yelled with a big smile on his face. If no one appeared at the door after a while or answered him in any way, he’d ring the bell a second time. If after that still no one would answer or open, he’d ring a third time. “I’ll leave it in your post box! Have a nice day!” and proceed to do as he said.

One of the things Martin liked most about his work was interacting with other robots. He enjoyed talking to them, asking them about their day and seeing them being happy that they received something. And one the best feelings of accomplishment is when they thanked him for doing his work. It showed him that he indeed liked his role a lot despite everything.

He delivered all of the letters he had taken with him and decided to pay Fabra a visit. It had been a while since he last entered the clock tower, even though it was such a prominent building for everyone to see. And he even lived close to it, but there was never really a reason to climb up all those stairs. Fabra was a robot to walk around town often, so they’d end up meeting eventually.

Due to his boots Martin didn’t take long to go up the tower and quickly knocked on Fabra’s door. Luckily enough, Fabra was present and Martin didn’t have to worry about where he could be. He hadn’t thought of that possibility until the last step of the stairs.

“Good morning, Fabra-san.” he said as he closed the door behind of him and entered the room. Everything looked the same as always, even Fabra sitting on his chair and reading a book.

“Good morning, Martin. What brings you here this early?” he put the book away and stood up.

“You see, I… kinda can’t find the key to my post bag.” Martin laughed embarrassedly.

“So you’ve lost it?”

“I wouldn’t… necessarily say that I… lost it. I just can’t… temporarily find it?”

“So you’ve lost it.”

“…probably.”

“And you wanted to ask if I have a spare key for your bag.”

“Why do you make me say things if you already know why I’m here?”

“It’s my hobby?”

“Hah…” Martin sighed and turned around. “So do you have one or not?” he walked around the room, he couldn’t just stay still.

“I’m afraid to tell you that I don’t, no. That key was the sole one I had, just as there is only one post bag and only one postman. Just like it has to be.”

“I see.” he sighed again. “Guess I’ll deliver the things I can deliver right now and spend the rest of the day looking for my key.” he was about to leave again but turned around one last time. “Thank you anyways. Bye-bye and have a nice day.”

“See ya.” Fabra waved his arm, sat down and opened his book. “Just like it has to be, yes yes.” he nodded as he dug his nose back into the book.

Martin left the clock tower again and walked back to his post office. Various robots were starting to ready their stalls as Jeune was _still_ playing the same melody. By now I have to ask myself as well, if maybe he just doesn’t know any other song. But Martin had mentioned that he had played another song when they met for the first time. I wonder what occurred back then…

“Jeune, your song isn’t helping me at all right now…”

“ _Yes_ , does it help you feel sad? I can go away if you want, Martin.” he opened his eyes but didn’t stop playing.

“Nah, I just don’t know what to do.”

“Shall I play with more vigour? _Fortissimo_?”

“What? No, don’t! It’s just that I lost a key and I don’t know how to look for it. If I don’t find it there’s some letters I won’t be able to deliver and that’ll make others sad.”

“ _Why?_ ”

“Because they won’t be getting what they’re eagerly waiting for. A letter filled with love, a letter filled with good news… a letter filled with the writer’s feelings. If I don’t deliver, who will?”

“ _No_ , that is not good indeed. But, oh, as it happens I too am currently looking for a key.”

“Really? Did you lose it too?”

“I didn’t find it yet.”

“So… you lost it?”

“If you want, we can look for our keys _together_ , Martin. _What_ do you think?”

“I still have work left for today, but if you wanna do it later today after I finish with everything…”

“ _Wonderful!_ ” he stopped playing and put his hands together. “I shall wait for you in front of your _office_ until you’ve finished.”

“Okay then, thanks!” Martin looked somewhat relieved again. He quickly entered his office and got more letters and packages to deliver and started working fully energized. As he left the market place through one of the streets, Jeune continued looking after him until he vanished behind a corner.

“ _No_ , I must thank you, Martin, _my dear friend._ Despite everything I do and say, you still stick with me. And even though that is precisely what I wish for with all of my being, I cannot say it out loud.” he put his violin on his shoulder and closed his eyes. “My role is to make people smile. Yet I do the exact opposite. _Why?_ Because I am scared of someone getting attached to me. I want to love, yet I am scared. _Sorry._ ”

Jeune opened his eyes, slowly started moving his arm and lured out gentle sounds from his violin. It was a completely different song than before. It was a lot more calming and charming, almost magical. As if the tune itself would spirit you away and carry you to another world. A blonde robot with a basket of apples passed by as she bowed down a bit to greet him with a smile on her face. He answered with another smile without stopping his playing.

 _This is what I want, why did I have to remember the true purpose of my role?_ he thought to himself as he raised his head skywards.

“Forgive me, Martin.”

⚙⚙⚙

A long day of work was finally over and Martin dashed back to his post office. He was greeted by Jeune who was playing the same old depressing tune in front of it, waiting just as he promised.

“You really only play that song now, do you?”

“Martin, _welcome back_.”

“Don’t dodge my question!” he yelled. “I’m back.” but still replied.

“Did you have a nice day?” he put his violin down.

“Well, yes, more or less. Anyways, I’ll get some stuff ready and close the shop for the day.”

“Alright.” Jeune smiled at Martin. Only a few minutes later Martin closed the office and was ready to go look for the lost keys together with Jeune.

“Will you be taking your violin with you or do you wanna leave it at your home?” Martin asked. “Where do you even live anyways!?”

“OH, does Martin want to visit my home with me?”

“Not necessarily, no. I just wondered where you lived since whenever I see you you’re just playing your violin out in town somewhere.”

“I shall tell you another day.”

“Heh, if you say so…”

“So what does your key look like?”

“It’s a small golden key of about this size.” he held thumb and index finger in front of Jeune’s face. “And it has the same engraving as the logo on my hat.”

“ _I see_.”

“What does your key look like?”

“My key has neither shape nor form.”

“…what?”

“What I am looking for is a _musical key_. An inspiration, if you want. I am currently trying to find the genre that suits me best.”

“By playing the same depressing song over and over again?!”

“ _Yes._ ”

“Hah…” Martin sighed and buried his face in his hands. “Also how am I supposed to help you look for something like that if it’s not a physical thing I can grasp?”

“…you have a point.” Jeune answered completely serious.

“Are you for real…” he jumped up and slapped Jeune on the back of his head.

Clonk.

“ _Ouchie._ ”

“That didn’t hurt, don’t exaggerate.” Martin said and started laughing.

“ _I’m sorry_ , Martin. But I shall help you look for your key, as promised.”

“Thanks.” he was still laughing when they decided to search in his apartment and building at first. It was Jeune’s first time inside of Martin’s home and instead of looking for a lost key he preferred inspecting all of his short friend’s belongings.

Martin exclaimed how they weren’t there for sightseeing and if he wanted, he’d invite Jeune over someday and brew him some coffee. Jeune gratefully accepted the invitation and started looking for the key for real. After having searched every inch and corner of the house, they headed outside again to continue their search outside. The sun was already setting and dyed the buildings’ facades in different hues of yellow and orange.

“OH, how pretty. _Beautiful!_ ” Jeune exclaimed.

“Wow, you’re right.” Martin’s eyes widened in surprise. It wasn’t the first time he had seen the sun set like that, but he never noticed its beauty because no one had pointed it out to him before.

“The setting sun shines in our colours, Martin.”

“Yeah.” his eyes sparkled in the sun while his smile grew bigger. Jeune was unsure what shone brighter, the sun or Martin. He put his hand in one of his pockets and grabbed the little key inside of it. He had been carrying Martin’s post bag key all along.

Jeune had found the key on the very same evening on which Martin had accidentally dropped it. After he had stopped playing the violin for the day, Jeune was on his way home when something on the ground reflected the evening sun and caught his attention. And what he found there was the key.

He had intended to return it to Martin when he saw him the next time, but just as he was about to he thought of ‘looking for’ the key together with him. It was an unusual decision for him, but he wanted to spend some time alone with Martin. Or rather, it wasn’t all that unusual. Jeune’s feelings, desires and sense of _duty_ were all mixed together and it seemed quite complicated a task to untangle them. But it is neither the right time nor place to pry into it further now. Everything to its due time.

“Hah, I wonder if we’ll ever find my key…” Martin sighed.

“I am sure we will, Martin.”

“Thanks, Jeune.”

The two continued their search for the not so lost key. Jeune had a plan. When Martin wasn’t paying attention he’d let the key fall on the ground and then act as if he had just found it. He had confidence in his acting, wasn’t he acting all the time already? He waited for his opportunity and…

“OH, Martin!” he exclaimed, feigning surprise.

“Yes?” he turned to him.

“Isn’t that over there your key?” he pointed at the key he had just thrown on the ground.

“My key!” Martin shouted as his eyes discovered the key. He jumped closer and picked it up at once. “I can’t believe it, we really found it!”

“I’m glad that you’ve found it again.” Jeune smiled because Martin looked so happy.

“Thanks a bunch, Jeune!” he said and threw himself at Jeune. Both of his arms wrapping around the violinist as firmly as they could. Jeune was taken aback by the sudden embrace and didn’t know how to react. He only noticed how his head was getting hotter as the hug went on.

“M-Martin…” he stuttered.

“What?” Martin looked up with a wide grin on his face and immediately let go of him when he saw that Jeune’s cheeks were bright red. “J-Jeune, are you okay? Are you malfunctioning?”

“I am unsure myself…”

“Should we head to see Fabra-san, he may know what to do---“

“No need to worry, Martin-san.” a familiar voice said from behind. “And you too, Jeune-san, rest reassured.” the voice added. Martin turned around to see who it was.

“Jane! And Terra too!”

“Hello Martin-san!” Terra smiled and waved his arm.

“What are you two doing here?”

“I’m Jane-san’s assistant!”

“What?”

“Indeed. Terra asked me to help me out in the library since he cannot remember his role and has nothing else to do.” Jane explained.

“And that way I can earn some pocket money as well, hehe…” Terra laughed. “And I get to read lots of books and learn about new things too!”

“I see…” Martin nodded. “Wait! More importantly, is Jeune okay?!” he pointed at the red-cheeked robot.

“Yes, he is just blushing.”

“Blushing?”

“Blush – to show shyness, embarrassment or shame by becoming red in the face.”

“So he’s okay?”

“He is, it should fade in no time.” he said and as if on cue, the redness of Jeune’s cheeks was slowly fading.

“Phew, I’m glad.” Martin took a deep breath.

“What were you two doing, Martin-san?” Terra asked curiously.

“Oh, Jeune helped me look for my post bag key I had lost. He _just_ found it for me.” he explained as he proudly held the key up.

“That’s great, I’m glad you found your key again!”

“Wait, you still didn’t tell me what you two were doing here!”

“Terra and I had planned to visit the restaurant Capsaicin because he wanted to try its food, but when we went there it had already closed. So we decided to try again tomorrow.” Jane explained.

“Ohh, Fabra-san wanted to invite me to that restaurant as well. Must be really good if everyone is going.”

“Terra, it is time. We should head back now.”

“Right, Jane-san. Let’s go.” Terra nodded.

“And we two should continue looking for your key, Jeune.” Martin turned to the silent robot. He had remained speechless ever since the hug.

“Did he lose a key too?” Terra asked.

“Not really, he’s looking for a key to a new music genre or something. One that perfectly fits him.”

“Oh, well then! Here.” Terra smiled and handed him the book he was carrying. “I just finished reading through it.”

“A book?” Martin took it and looked at the cover. “’On music’?”

“It is a collection of different essays, papers and articles on music. It also contains a musical dictionary at the end. I do not know if it will be of any help, but please feel free to use it.” Jane smiled.

“What a coincidence, thanks!” Martin laughed. “I’ll bring it back once this guy found his genre.” he turned back to Jeune. “If he ever starts moving again.”

“Thank you very much. Well then, if you may excuse us we will take our leave.” Jane bowed down.

“Bye bye!” Terra did the same and the two went on their way.

“Hey, are you broken? Jeune?!”

“ _Yes?_ ”

“Oh he finally answered. What was wrong with you? Was that blush thing more severe than we thought?”

“ _No_ , I don’t think so. I was just… lost in thought?”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Can I play a bit?”

“What about the book I was given? Don’t you want to read through it?”

“Maybe later…”

“Alright, since you helped me find my key, I’ll help you find yours by looking through this while you play.”

“ _Thanks._ ” he answered, closed his eyes and started playing where he was standing.

“You’re gonna play right here?!” he yelled but was ignored. “…fine.” he chuckled, sat down on a barrel that was standing close and opened the book.

‘On music’ was a thick book. It contained hundreds of pieces of information about various areas. Martin didn’t know exactly where to start. In the first place, he didn’t really know what he was looking for. He wasn’t a musician, he had never played an instrument. And the only music he listened to was Jeune’s violin, even though he missed the old song.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the street and Martin had to hold down his hat with one hand. Due to the breeze, the pages of the book he was holding turned on their own and stopped on one of the later pages. Like Jane had explained, there was a dictionary in the book as well and the pages happened to stop at the start of one of the entries. Martin read through the entry on a whim and his eyes widened as he got to the end of it. He jumped up from the barrel and hurried to Jeune’s side.

“Naturalism!” he yelled at him which caused him to pause his song. “That’s your genre!”

“Oh?” he put down the violin and paid attention to what Martin was about to say.

“Naturalism – a style and theory of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail. The belief that everything arises from natural properties and causes.” he read aloud.

“…”

“You are a natural! You always look out for others and pay attention to details. Whatever the case you always try to find out the reason behind of it, not judging anything by how it looks at first. And you make others happy with your music! Or…” Martin lowered his head. “…hehe, at least that’s how you were when I met you. I really… loved that part of you.” he whispered.

Upon hearing that, something flashed through Jeune’s mind.

_Your role is to make people smile._

Jeune took a deep breath, put his violin back on his shoulder and started playing a song. But it wasn’t the same depressing song. And neither was it the one Martin heard when he first met him. It was a new song, a melody he had never played before. It was somewhat similar to his first song, but still entirely different.

Martin raised his head again and looked at Jeune. Unlike other times, he was playing with his eyes open and the two robots’ gazes met. He was looking into Martin’s eyes as he was playing that new lovely tune. He wouldn’t say it out loud yet, but it was a song solely for Martin.

After the song came to an end, Jeune bowed down and received a round of applause. Not only Martin was clapping his hands, but also a bunch of other robots that had gathered around of him while he was playing the song. Everyone had smiles on their faces and showed them to him. Overflown with joy, he bowed down once again to thank everyone.

“I know it’s hard on you, Jeune, but even so… this is your _role_. Fulfil it. If everything goes well, you won’t need to fulfil your _duty_.” Fabra whispered to himself amidst the crowd, trying not to get discovered by the others. He smiled faintly and turned around to leave.

The applause died down and one robot after the other left, and the two were on their own again.

“That… was awesome!” Martin yelled, a wide grin on his face. He couldn’t hold in his excitement and jumped at Jeune.

“I’m _happy_ that you like it.” he replied with a smile.

“Wah!!” he shouted out of nowhere and let go of Jeune. “I almost forgot about the letters in my post bag due to everything that happened!”

“OH, _you’re right_.”

“Come on!” Martin grabbed Jeune’s hand and started running. Jeune didn’t understand what was happening, but he grasped the swift postman’s hand firmly and ran after him. They ran all the way to the post office and Martin hurriedly opened the door. He let go of Jeune, took his post bag and opened it with his key.

“ _What?”_ Jeune was visibly confused when Martin shoved a letter into his face. “For me?”

“Yup!”

“From whom may this---“ he turned around the letter and saw the sender’s name.

“I suddenly remembered there was a letter addressed to you in my post bag. Maybe that’s why I asked you earlier where you even lived. I might just have subconsciously remembered this letter.” he laughed.

“So do I need to tell you where I live now?”

“Nah, I just delivered it safely to you, didn’t I?”

“But---“

“I’ll just visit you one of these days. Oh, but only after I brew you some of my coffee.”

“…” Jeune smiled lovingly. “It will be my pleasure.”

“Oh, almost forgot.” he grinned. “Postman Martin is here! I have a delivery for you!”

⚙⚙⚙

Jeune closed the door behind of him and entered his apartment. The sun had already set so he turned on the lights. He took off his jacket and hung it on a hook next to the entrance. Before stepping into his living room, he took the letter he had received earlier from the jacket’s pocket.

He approached a stand in the corner and positioned his violin on it, making a mental note to clean it tomorrow. It had been a long day and he just wanted to sit down and relax while reading through the letter. He sat down on his couch and turned the letter around once more.

“From Martin, To Jeune.” he read out aloud. A smile appeared on his face when he did. It was the very first letter he had ever received, and he was incredibly happy that he got it from someone he cared for so deeply.

“Martin.” he started talking to himself. “I give up. I wanted to close off my _heart_ , but you managed to open it so easily so many times. If you’re the key to _my happiness_ , then I promise I will hold onto you, no matter what. Even if my duty has to be fulfilled someday…” he took a short break. “…even if I am still scared, I shan’t let go of you.”

Jeune kissed the envelope and put it close to his chest. He promised himself to take care of his little treasure.


	5. Tick Four ~ A sensation of burning

Today’s story begins in the town’s most famous (and infamous) restaurant called Capsaicin. I marvel, do you perhaps remember it from previous statings? It has been mentioned a few times already, though we did never venture inside nor talk about its owner. Therefore, without further ado let us plunge into a normal day in the _life_ of Meir.

As usual, Meir opened his restaurant at exactly nine o’clock in the morning. He’d wake up at least an hour before to make sure everything was ready until nine. After turning around the “closed” sign to “open”, which was hung on the door, he’d enter his kitchen and prepare some things for the day. That was his role after all.

Meir was a cooking robot. Naturally, as we have established beforehand already, robots do not need to eat in any kind of way or matter, but some of them still indulge in it and Capsaicin was the perfect place to eat. Beautiful interiors: the main hall provided plenty of tables to sit at, no matter if alone or with other guests. Elegant decorations: magnificent paintings were hanging from the walls, vases in good style aligned on the ground. Everything harmonized in warm, natural colours with some specks of gold. Indeed, the restaurant was flawless.

Well, nigh on flawless.

“Mornin’ Meir.” a tall, light blue haired robot clad in a brown overall entered through the door.

“Oh, good morning, April!” Meir smiled in response. “You’re already here?”

“Yup. Thought I’d get it over with quickly. I gotta deliver some stuff today.” April sighed. He seemed somewhat tired, Meir thought. Maybe because it was still early? The tall robot took of his flying cap and goggles and put them down on the counter. After that he sat down on a stool and sighed.

“Busy?” Meir asked as he walked behind the counter. He crouched down, grabbed a glass from inside a cupboard and filled it with water from the sink. He placed it in front of the sighing robot and smiled again.

The two had known each other ever since April had been awakened. His role is being the driver. He drives a various array of vehicles to deliver goods from place to place. On top of that, he also drives robots around sometimes. And his first job after he had started his role was to deliver some ingredients to Capsaicin’s owner.

Ever since then the two had become like close friends? That was Meir’s impression, though he didn’t know what April thought about it; he never asked in fear of finding out that he was the only one thinking like that. But nonetheless they got along very well. It was also then when April’s _other role,_ one could almost say, started.

“Nah, I’m just scared of your food.”

“A-again?”

“What do you mean again? In four out of five cases the food you serve is always way too spicy. You know, we may be robots but our sensors are real, we can _feel_ that sort of pain too.” April complained. “Why am I even your tester anyways?”

“April, I think you’re exaggerating now.” Meir chuckled.

But April was not. In fact, Meir’s restaurant was known in all of the town for being the best establishment in which one could dine: if you were satisfied with only ordering a beverage. In case you don’t know, please allow me to explain in further detail the name of his restaurant.

_Capsaicin_ is an active component of chili peppers and is therefore an irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact. Strangely enough, that sensation seems to be triggered with all robots that come into contact with it as well. All except for Meir.

“Sure, whatever you say.” April sighed and gave up.

“Okay then wait here, I’ll go make you something quickly.” Meir smiled and walked towards the kitchen. April followed him with his gaze. He had always thought that Meir looked different than the other robots. Unlike most others, his clothes weren’t mostly a mix of brown and dark colours but rather white with some light brown and purple accents like his boots, the neckerchief and his cap.

The cap looked similar to Martin’s, though instead of a dove emblem it showed a print of a fork and spoon in a cross. The same symbol could be found on Meir’s chef’s jacket which was so long that it reached down to his knees. Around his waist was a belt-like gear from which various cooking utensils like a whisker, a knife and a pan were hanging.

April was always intrigued by him, though he didn’t quite understand why. Maybe that was the reason why he still kept on being Meir’s tester, even though he feared he’d stop moving someday due to his meals.

After a short while, Meir returned with a bowl filled with soup. Very red soup. With automatically squinting eyes and a touch of doubt in his gaze, April slowly approached the bowl with his face and examined it. It looked edible, but he had learned from past experiences that looks could be deceiving.

The chef cook folded his arms and smiled proudly, waiting for his friend to take a sip of his new creation. April looked up and met Meir’s gaze, as if wanting to confirm if he had to really try it, but Meir only nodded excitedly. April sighed in resign, spooned some soup and held it in front of his face. Another sigh had to be expired before he finally moved the spoon inside his mouth and swallowed the soup.

Only seconds later he started coughing and quickly emptying the glass of water he had been offered before. He started breathing heavily and fanning wind to himself.

“And?” Meir asked curiously.

“…”

“How is it?”

“…burning hot as expected.”

“Ehh, really?” he seemed surprised. “And even though I used less spices than I first intended to, hmm…” he rested a hand on his chin and started thinking.

“You what?”

“It seems my Red Hot Chili Soup needs some more adjusting yet.”

“It needs to be revised entirely.” April sighed and rested his head on the counter. “Do you have some pudding left?”

“Oh, yes I do! Do you want some?”

“Seriously!?” he jumped up from the stool and looked revived again.

“Sure!” Meir smiled in response and vanished into his kitchen again.

“Yeah!” April laughed. Pudding was the only thing made my Meir that he could eat. Though only because he had stopped him from adding suspiciously red looking spices the first time he made it. Meir would always have pudding for April to eat. Even though he was trying to come up with new spicy meals for his restaurant every day, he still wanted to see April happy and pudding managed to do that flawlessly.

“Here.” he put a small golden plate with pudding in front of April and observed his sparkling eyes.

“Thanks!” April looked overjoyed and started eating the pudding immediately. He stopped midway as an idea popped into his mind. “Oh, Meir!”

“Yes?”

“Do you know Octo?”

“I’ve heard of him, yes. But I haven’t met him yet. Why do you ask?”

“Octo repairs stuff. Like robots and gadgets and vehicles and stuff.” he explained. Meir wasn’t sure what April wanted to tell him with that. “I thought…” he took another bite of the pudding. “Maybe Octo can check your sense of taste or something, you know? Maybe it’s broken and that’s why you don’t find anything deadly spicy.”

“Ohh, I’ve never thought about that possibility. Maybe you’re right. Hmm, do you think he’d have time to check now?”

“Right now?!”

“The sooner the better!” Meir formed a fist with his hand. “My role is to make robots happy with my food, I have to try everything I can!”

“Can I finish my pudding first?”

“Of course!”

“Yeah!!” he exclaimed and continued eating.

Once he was done and Meir had cleaned and neatly put away everything they exited the restaurant together. The sign on the door was turned back to “closed” and April led the way to his car. This time it was Meir following April with his gaze.

The tall robot looked like a pilot, at least that’s what Meir thought. He had read a book about airplanes once and the pilots depicted in it looked a bit like April. A brown overall with a warm looking jacket, a flying cap with goggles, fingerless gloves and sturdy boots. The golden accents further completed the appearance. He wondered if April knew how to fly planes…

After a short walk they got to April’s car and entered it. Meir was already used to his driving, but whenever someone new got on board with him they’d fear for their lives. (Do you think the robots use that expression? I shall look into that later.) It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that April’s driving was rather reckless and wild. He wasn’t a bad driver, by no means, he had never caused any accidents, but riding with him would always end up as a unique experience.

They reached Octo’s mechanical workshop in one piece and entered through the open front door.

The workshop wasn’t all too big yet stored quite a large array of different machines that all served various purposes. They were lined up on the walls on both sides of the hall, leaving a way to pass through in the middle. For being a workshop where broken things got repaired everything looked cleaner than Meir had expected. He wondered what kind of robot Octo was when April suddenly called out. The sparks that could be seen in the back of the hall suddenly stopped.

“Octo! Are you here!?” he yelled through the workshop. A very tall robot emerged from behind a machine, a welder in his hand and a welding mask covering his face. He turned the welder off, put it down and slowly stepped towards his guests.

The robot was really tall, Meir thought. Probably the tallest robot he had ever seen so far. Much like April, he was wearing a brown overall with various belts and apparatuses attached to it. The zip was half open and revealed a dark blue shirt underneath and a golden necklace with a gear pendant. Around his waist was a tool belt where he’d probably store his most important tools. Meir eyed the robot from head to toe, what kind of powerful robot was hiding behind that mask?

Octo took of the mask, moved his goggles on top of his brown hair and smiled widely.

“Oh, hello April-kun!” he said friendly. Meir was both surprised and relieved that Octo wasn’t as scary as he imagined. “What brings you here today?”

“This guy.” April pointed at Meir.

“Hmm?” Octo looked confused but turned to the unknown face.

“Ah, my name is Meir! I own the restaurant Capsaicin. My role is to cook! It’s nice to meet you, Octo-san!”

“The pleasure is all mine, Meir-kun!” he smiled. “I’m Octo and I run this workshop. My role is to fix everything that can be fixed.”

“Yeah that’s why we’re here. You need to fix this guy.” April continued.

“O-oh no, is he broken?”

“Kinda?”

“Where? Do you need to be fixed right now? I can---“

“N-no, it’s not like that!” Meir intervened. “I’m not really broken or anything, April just didn’t explain it properly.”

“Ah, yes, his sense of taste may be broken.” April nodded.

“His sense of taste…?”

“You see…” Meir started telling Octo about their reason for coming to visit him.

“I understand.” Octo nodded. “Well if you want, I can quickly check it and see if there’s something wrong with it, okay?”

“Really?”

“Of course, that’s my role after all!” he smiled. “Please take a seat in my office up the stairs.” he said and pointed to a small metal staircase that led to a small room. It was like a free hanging room inside the hall, it even had windows so one could look down to the workshop. April had always wondered how that room was attached to the ceiling and didn’t crash down. He didn’t trust it and therefore had never ventured inside of it.

“Alright, thank you very much, Octo-san!” Meir replied and slowly climbed up the stairs.

“I’ll put this mask away and join you.” Octo explained. “April, you can stay here and wait of course, but please don’t break anything.”

“Aye.” April answered and started looking around.

After Octo had put away the mask he walked up to his office. April could see the two from the workshop. Meir was sitting on a chair and Octo was looking into his mouth. The scene reminded him of a dentist. He read about dentists in a book once and the only thing he learned about them is that they were apparently evil people. He was glad robots didn’t need dentists. He shivered from the memory alone, turned away and stared at the different machines.

“He said to not break anything, not that I can’t _touch_ stuff…” he whispered to himself and started walking around. He eyed the different machines in the workshop, asking himself what each of them could be used for. But he had no idea, and his own ideas seemed to be too farfetched, even for himself. After roaming around for a while, Octo climbed down the stairs, followed by Meir.

“We’re back.” Octo said.

“And?” April turned around from the machines and faced the other two.

“Nothing.”

“Eh?”

“There’s nothing I could do. Meir-kun isn’t broken in any way, so I can’t fix anything.”

“Ehh… then why can’t he taste his horrible way too spicy food?”

“Hmm, is it really that bad?” Octo wondered.

“Yes April, is it really that bad?” Meir repeated. April squinted his eyes and observed them. He wasn’t sure if they teamed up and were trying to mock him or if Octo just genuinely didn’t believe him.

“Why don’t you come and try it yourself then?” he suggested, crossing his arms.

“That’s a great idea April!” Meir exclaimed. “Octo-san, please feel free to come by Capsaicin whenever you have time. I shall invite you to your first meal.”

“Really? Thank you very much, Meir-kun, I’ll take you up on that offer then.” he smiled in response.

“Hah…” April sighed and started walking towards the exit. “Well if nothing’s broken, let’s get back already.”

“Yes, I have to open the restaurant again!” he followed him. “Thank you for today, Octo-san. Have a nice day!”

“Thank you, you too.”

“Ah!” April stopped suddenly. “Octo?”

“Yes?”

“Can you take a look at my car tomorrow? I think something is off with it.”

“Sure thing.” he smiled. “Same time as always?”

“Aye.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow then.”

“Thanks. Bye.” he said and the two left the workshop.

Octo was on his own again and walked back to his office. He wanted to write down his appointment with April for tomorrow, just in case he’d forget about it. There wasn’t much inside his office: a neatly organized desk on which he put his little notebook to write down appointments, three chairs, one for him, two for customers, some shelves to store different gadgets and tools and a file cabinet. The majority of his time was spent down in the workshop, though he still needed a place like that small office.

It’s important that I mention that Octo wasn’t as skilled as he is now. After having awoken and being told his role, he was unsure if he was suited for this kind of work in the first place. But that was nothing uncommon for the robots, they all struggled at first in fulfilling their role; some less, some more, but none of them was perfect from the beginning.

And because of that, Octo had closed his workshop for an entire month before he even started to work in it. He wanted to master his metier before serving other robots. Despite his appearance he was a very diligent and kind robot, as Meir had experienced first-hand. Nonetheless, or maybe precisely therefore, Octo came to love his role and was happy whenever he could help others.

“I’ll try to invite Augus to accompany me to Capsaicin the next time I see him.” he whispered to himself as he put on the welding mask again and returned to his work.

When April and Meir got back to the restaurant, there were two robots standing in front of the entrance door, seemingly waiting to go inside.

“Jane-san, do you think it’ll stay closed today?” Terra asked.

“I’m not sure. Normally it shouldn’t be closed at the moment, but maybe Meir-san had something to take care of and isn’t inside right now.”

“Ehh… And here I was looking forward to eat together with you…”

“We can just come another time, right?”

“But I wanted to do it today!” Terra pouted.

“What a cute robot…” Jane whispered and chuckled. “Ah, Terra look.” he said suddenly and pointed to the right. Meir and April were approaching the restaurant.

“Ahh!” Terra seemed happy again.

“I’m so sorry, were you waiting long?” Meir hurried to the door and opened it.

“Nope, we just got here! I invited Jane-san to eat with me today!” Terra smiled and noticed he hadn’t introduced himself yet. “Oh, my name is Terra!”

“Nice to meet you, Terra. I’m Meir, the owner of Capsaicin. And this is---“

“April.” April interrupted him.

“It’s nice to meet you two!”

“Well then, let’s go inside and I’ll make something for you.” Meir said and led everyone inside. Jane, Terra and April sat down on a table near the counter. Meir put a glass of water in front of everyone and waited for their orders.

“Jane-san, what do you want to eat?” Terra asked excitedly.

“I’m not sure, I normally don’t partake of so…” Jane-san answered.

“Partake?”

“To partake of – to eat or drink.”

“Ahh… Hmm…” Terra started thinking. “Then Jane-san and I will have whatever you recommend, Meir-san! Is that okay?”

“Very well, I shall oblige.”

“Two Red Hot Chili Soups then, alright.” he nodded. “April, do you want to try it agai---“

“No!” he yelled and startled the other two. “No…” he remembered the soup from earlier and shivered. “…I’ll have some pudding.”

“Alright.” Meir smiled and vanished into the kitchen.

While they were waiting for their meals Terra started asking April various questions. Whenever he’d meet a new robot he’d bombard them with questions. It was as if Terra was driven by a sheer unsatisfiable desire of knowledge. Whatever it was, he always wanted to know more about it. Working at Jane’s library only further spurred on that desire.

And so he ended up asking April about all the different vehicles he drove, about every place he already went to and about what kinds of robots he drove around. April seemed happy and proud to talk about his role to someone else and Jane just enjoyed observing and listening to the two while reading in a book he brought along from the library.

“Alright, excuse me for the wait but here are your meals.” Meir appeared again and put the bowls on the table. “Two Red Hot Chili Soups and one pudding. Please enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you very much, Meir-san!” Terra smiled and started eating immediately. He swallowed a big spoonful of soup and closed his eyes.

“Thank you, Meir-san.” Jane said and tried a bit of the soup as well. Though unlike Terra, he started coughing after he swallowed. “…”

“Is everything okay?” Meir inquired.

“…water.” he groaned, grabbed his glass of water and chugged it empty.

“See?” April looked at Meir. “Told ya no one could eat this.” he said and started eating his pudding.

“I never ate but… does food always taste like his Terra?” Jane turned to him, but he hadn’t moved since before. “Terra? Terra, can you hear me!?” he grabbed the red-haired robots shoulders and shook him a bit. Thereupon Terra finally opened his eyes again and started coughing. “Oh thank goodness…”

“Phew that was… unexpected!” Terra managed to say after he calmed down again. “This is a very… interesting? A very interesting soup, yes.”

“So it’s really true…” Meir looked disappointed.

“I-it’s not bad, it’s just… uhm… J-Jane-san…” Terra turned to Jane for help but that one only sighed in response.

“Wanna try the pudding? Or anything that isn’t red, really.” April suggested and sighed. “Honestly Meir, if you’d just follow the recipes properly and stopped using that red stuff more robots would come and eat here.”

“Maybe you’re right…”

“Maybe!?”

“Okay, you’re probably right.”

“Hah…”

“A-anyways, please let me cook something else for you. I promise this time it’ll be edible, okay?”

“…I’m not sure I want to take the risk again…” Jane said almost inaudibly but Terra poked him with his elbow. “I-I mean, sure. Thank you, Meir-san.”

“It’s okay, really, I’m the one who whould be thanking you that you’re giving me a second chance. Well then, if you’ll excuse me.” he took the two bowls and stepped back to the kitchen.

“Phew…” Terra sighed in relief. “April-san, are all of his---“

“If he puts in the red stuff, yes. But see this pudding? He made this too, but I can eat it. It’s yummy, in fact.”

“How intriguing…” Jane folded his hands.

Some time passed and Meir returned with two different meals for Terra and Jane. Unlike with the soups, this time the food wasn’t red and the two tried it with little doubt. While they were waiting April had told him a few episodes of past incidents. He had told them about his memories with Meir with joy and ended up laughing at his own stories. It was then that he realized how much time he had actually spent with Meir.

After Terra and Meir had finished eating, they thanked Meir for the meal and excused themselves; they had to go back to the library and return to work. April offered them to drive them there. But before Jane could politely decline his offer – he was well aware of how April drove, he had experienced it once already and wasn’t prone to repeat – Terra already accepted. After talking with April about driving all afternoon, he wanted to see it for himself. Jane tried to make him reconsider, but whenever Terra stared at him with big round eyes, he sighed in defeat and agreed.

They got to the library quickly. Far too quickly for Jane’s taste, he felt as if April had become faster since the last time he rode with him and he wouldn’t necessarily call that an improvement. Despite everything, Terra seemed to have fun. Though he did mention that he’d try not to eat anything before going on a drive with April. The driver laughed, said goodbye to the two and drove back to Capsaicin.

The sun had begun setting already and Meir had turned the sign on the door back to “closed”. April entered nonetheless and sat down on a stool at the counter. He could’ve driven to the market place and see if robots needed to be driven somewhere, but for some reason he preferred to go back to the restaurant and be with Meir some more. While Meir was cleaning up and finishing things for the day, April started reminiscing about the past again.

He clearly remembered the first day he met Meir. It was raining heavily that day when he---

“April, I finished.” Meir said and brought him back from his daydreaming. (Please rest reassured, we will surely find out more about how they met, but it’s not the right moment yet.)

“Oh… uh… what?” April said, still half in thought.

“What’s wrong? Were you daydreaming again?” he smiled at him.

“Y-yeah… sorry.” he looked down. He liked it when Meir smiled at him. He didn’t quite understand why, but he only felt like that when Meir smiled. Of course, when other robots smiled he was happy as well. He was happy when his friends were happy. But was Meir just a friend like any other? He didn’t know. He had never thought about it until now. But why now? Was it because of how Jane smiled at Terra?

_Oh… Maybe that’s it._

April didn’t understand it yet, but he was sure that was similar to what it felt like observing Jane and Terra earlier. Though that didn’t give him any answer he was seeking, it made some things clearer for him. He was now sure that Meir was more special to him, but why was that? Only because he had spent more time with him than with others?

What do you think? Is that _enough_ to become special? Is there even a means to determine “becoming special” or not? If I may, I think that’s something everyone has to come to understand themselves. It would be a simple feat to tell April, but it will only have meaning if he realizes himself. But it seems that time hasn’t come yet, now has it? After all, April didn’t like thinking too much about difficult things.

He shook his head to get rid of all those complicated thoughts, he didn’t want to think about them now. He stared at Meir and squinted his eyes again.

“April?”

“…nothing.” he shook it once again.

“Alright.” Meir chuckled. “Shall we go then?”

“Aye.” he stood up from his stool and accompanied Meir out of the restaurant. The lights inside turned off as Meir closed the door and turned the key to close it. April had promised to drive Meir home. He told himself that he’d think about _this_ again another time. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy the time with Meir.

“Alright, let’s go!!” he exclaimed as he stretched an arm skywards.

“You seem so motivated suddenly.” Meir laughed.

“Hehe.” April smiled at Meir as they started walking towards his car.

⚙⚙⚙

While the two robots are on their way home, why don’t we shift our view to the other side of the town? In an apartment in an older building there were two robots living together. They had been together ever since they had been awakened. In fact, they awoke at almost the very same time. We have already met one of the two, his name is Dissen.

He lived in that apartment together with another robot and one could say that they had a very special bond connecting them together. Not only were their roles somewhat important to each other, they also felt another, special connection between them. Perhaps that was the special feeling April was experiencing?

But in any case, at the moment Dissen was home alone. The other robot had some work to take care of and told Dissen that he’d be home a bit later than usually.

“I wonder how Mary is doing. I hope she’s fine.” he talked to himself. He had given the recently bloomed flower to Terra when he met him the other day. Dissen’s role required him to work closely with plants and flowers. His job was to make flowers bloom and help vegetation grow again like it used to. He wasn’t completely sure what that meant when Fabra had told him about it, but it was his role so he did what he could.

Due to his role he took a lot of walks around town in search for small plants and flowers and at times even managed to find some. He may not have entirely understood _why_ he was doing what he was doing, but he knew it was of big importance and that he had a heavy responsibility. At least that was what Fabra had explained to him.

“Well then let’s see…” he mumbled. “Mary bloomed when I added this…” he was sitting at his desk and writing info down into his notebook. “…and this. Hmm… but what if I… or maybe I could… Ah! Perhaps if I…” his broken sentences didn’t make much sense to anyone else, but that didn’t matter as long as he himself understood them. Though it wasn’t rare that he’d write something down one day and when he’d look over it later he wouldn’t remember what he meant then. According to him, that only showed what an incredible genius he was. Dissen’s partner agreed with him on that.

“Hah… I’m tired.” he put his pen down and looked out of the window. The sun had already set behind the horizon and the street lamps outside were turning on one after the other. “I wonder when Novem’s coming home…”

He stood up from his chair and stretched. He slowly dragged his feet along the floor and stepped into the living room. He sat down on the couch only to lie down completely a few minutes later.

“I’ll just…” he yawned. “I’ll just take… a short nap until he’s home… I wonder if he’ll bring something to eat. It was his turn to buy dinner… right…” he said and started falling asleep.

As Dissen closed his eyes, our story starts shifting. The book’s pages turn backwards and allow us to take a peek into the past, into a time in which Terra had not yet awoken. To when the gears had only just begun turning.


End file.
